‘Midwest theft ring’ suspects arrested

In what the sheriff’s department called the most recent robbery in a major Midwest theft ring, a man and woman are in jail after an arrest on suspicion of stealing electronics from Wal-Mart. Authorities believe the pair is responsible for more than 100 thefts at Wal-Mart stores across four states.

The Columbia County Sheriff’s Department said Jennifer Wolfe, 27, and Jeremiah Sisk, 30, cut security tags off electronics as they were leaving Wal-Mart in Portage, Wis., Tuesday at about 10 a.m. Store employees told police Wolfe and Sisk ran from the store without paying for the merchandise and left in a vehicle with stolen Illinois plates.

A short time later a Columbia County detective identified and stopped the vehicle and arrested Wolf and Sisk. Authories believe the pair have stolen from other Wal-Mart stores in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin totaling about $100,000 worth of stolen merchandise

The sheriff’s department said Wolfe and Sisk are admitted heroin addicts and have been stealing the electronics to support their addiction.

Detectives from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and Portage police are working with dozens of other agencies around the Midwest to identify if the thefts are connected. The sheriff’s office is also working with the federal authorities to see if federal prosecution is appropriate, since Wolfe and Sisk have been crossing state lines while allegedly committing their crimes.

Columbia County Sheriff’s Department said it believes Wolfe and Sisk acted alone in the thefts.

The pair is from Colorado but had recently moved to Madison.

Wolf and Sisk are in Columbia County Jail; they’re expected to appear in court Monday.